Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson has announced that he will commence a world tour playing his legendary opus Pet Sounds one final time. Wilson will perform the album in its entirety to celebrate five decades of the album, with a full band that includes Beach Boys’ founding guitarist Al Jardine.
Fans of the classic album will have plenty of opportunities to catch the songs one last time live; The tour will be comprised of at least 70 performances, and will hit Australia, Asia, Europe and North America between mid-June and October of 2016.
In the U.S., Wilson’s show will hit two dozen states, with some West Coast performances, such as one of the performances in Wilson’s native Southern California, still being finalized.
The iconic songwriter previously performed Pet Sounds in its entirety in the year 2000, shortly before receiving the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.
An introvert who famously avoided stages for almost 20 years prior to the 2000 tour, Wilson is among the most famed composers of the rock and roll era, with Pet Sounds routinely ranking among the top albums of all time on curated lists. The album was famously part of a wall-of-sound back-and-forth with The Beatles, with Wilson citing the British Pop group’s Rubber Soul as influential on its creation, and The Beatles’ Paul McCartney citing Pet Sounds as inspirational in the creation of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
For his work in music, Wilson has been named a Kennedy Center Honors recipient, Songwriters and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and U.K. Music Hall of Fame Member, as well as having won multiple Grammy Awards.
“It’s really been a trip to sit here and think about releasing Pet Sounds 50 years ago,” said Wilson in a statement about the tour. “I love performing this album with my band and look forward to playing it for fans all across the world.”
Pre-sales for most of the shows begin Wednesday, and full information is available on Wilson’s website.
